Just as all this has been happening, the Trump brand -- for all Donald Trump's smoldering (he thinks so at least) good looks -- appears to be troubled.

Obituaries are suddenly being written for his campaign and his brand. It's odd that his brand survived his tirades against Mexicans, women, Muslims, disabled people and so many other constituencies for so long.

There's one essential difference between Samsung's current plight and Trump's: Samsung's debacle is out of character. Trump's is totally Trump.

Many consumers seem stunned that a company with an excellent reputation would not only sell defective and dangerous products, but then also react as if this wasn't the large-scale problem it's turned out to be. Worse, Samsung promised the replacement phones were safe, which proved not to be true.

How many people are truly surprised that Donald Trump is Donald Trump?

Many people are saying that Trump, a slight-of-hand marketer if ever there was one, intends to set up a media conglomerate as soon as the election is over.

Unlike Samsung's, his audience isn't moved negatively by any of his antics, pronouncements, peccadilloes or faux-pas. They rally around him for a strong emotional reason: anger. Unlike so many career politicians, he's happy to articulate it.

He gives it a coarse, hoarse voice, an orange mane and a reddened face.

Samsung, on the other hand, may have miscalculated the feelings of its customers. It thought that if it played the problem down, the whole thing would go away. Instead, it exploded and trust was eroded.

Yes, many Samsung customers insist they'll hang on to their Note 7s anyway. It's a very good phone. Many more, however, will now be suspicious not just of these phones, but of the Samsung brand, one that's proved so reliable when it comes to TVs, domestic appliances and many other areas.